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I can’t believe it’s been six years since I started hosting my annual Holiday Party. Something that started as an idea to get friends together has turned into one of my favorite traditions. Unlike your normal holiday party filled with food, drinks and tons of holiday cheer mines just a tad different. When I got the idea in my head that I wanted to host one six years ago I wanted it to be more then just a typical get together. I wanted it to have a meaning behind it, something that was good for the soul.

If you know me you know I love kids, I’m a bit of a sap and I really try to find the good in everything. Always trying to be kind to everyone and put out good karma into world. So that being said I wanted to incorparate raising and donating Toys for the kids less fortunate. Full disclosure I saw this idea on an episode of Real Housewives of NJ, yes I’m guilty I watch this show. If I’m being truthful I watch pretty much every show on bravo ! Melissa Gorga hosted a Toys for Tots themed Holiday Party and remember thinking that it was such a genius idea. So 6 years later I’m still hosting and raising toys for some little tots.

Anyways … I’m Catholic grew up going to church and celebrating Christmas. I always remembered as a child loving Christmas time, getting together with family and being so excited for Santa to come. So when I think about children not having that experience it breaks my heart. So this little bit of giving back that I can do is really my favorite Christmas gift of all.

These days I feel that people and the younger generations have really forgotten the true meaning of the holidays. It’s not all about presents – it’s about giving, loving and cherishing the people that are important in your life. The true meaning of the holidays is getting lost so any bit of preserving I can do, I’m all for that. Also honestly there really is no better feeling then giving back.

So the past six years have been such a great success, from donating to local Toys for Tots drop offs to the Nicholas Pedone foundation a foundation that is dear to my heart. Now to this year donating to Emerge Puerto Rico a small non profit organization.

If you’ve been up on the news you know the devastation Puerto Rico has been hit with due to Hurricane Maria this past September. The devastation is no joke and to this day there is still so much rebuilding to be done. I knew that this year I needed to find away to get these toys down to PR. Determined after reaching out to a few organizations but not getting far when I saw a post from an old acquaintance about raising school related items for her friend down in PR, I knew I had to reach out. After sharing my story with her she as much as I was determined to make this happen! Fast forward a few weeks and back and forth planing we got it together and those all those toys are on its way to Puerto Rico TODAY 12/22/17!!!

I’m glad to say that close to 100 toys 98 to be exact are currently on there way to Puerto Rico !! So a big thank you to my friends and a huge thank you to Amanda who was the middle man for making this happen with her friend Christine from Emerge Puerto Rico !

Enjoy some images below through the years of Ro’s Toys for Tots and also stay tuned for images from Puerto Rico !

Another year older, another year wiser….
{ Lets make this short and sweet }

Or a more polite way of saying your getting old. Honestly you can ask anyone of my friends and family members I am not a big Birthday celebrator type. I alway every year end up just putting something on the calendar and hoping for the best. Which in actuality really describes my type-B personality. ( outfit below is total type A , planned that one to a T ! )

When life hands you lemons make limoncello

These 365 days have had its ups and downs and really has showed me how great of a support system I truly have. Honestly the saying family is everything is 100% the truth and being Italian and all its like on level 200 ! From the most amazing family and friends that I look at as family, I’m truly one lucky gal! They say everything happens for a reason and what you do with the situation is truly up to you. You feel me baby ?

So keeping this short and sweet and to the point, thank you times a million ! Grazie Mille as they say in Italy. For all the love and support through out all my years and this year especially. Cheer to another year ! Bring on the Rosè and the Aperol Spritz please !

Hold up wait a minute ….. I actually found a one piece that fits me and I still can’t believe it! For the longest time I’ve been toying with the idea of purchasing a Solid & Striped one piece the Anne-Marie to be exact. Ever since that social media take over last 4th of July with Taylor Swift & squad, yes I admit it I’ve been wanting one ever since. Since I’ve purchased my new favorite bathing suit I basically live in it. By far my one of my favorite purchases of the season, not to mention I got a deal on it via a Net-A-Porter sale!

From the Jersey Shore featured above to a quaint little beach Island in LI, NY – Fire Island to be exact this suit is making its rounds. The million dollar question whats the next beach destination for my suit of the summer ?! Stay tuned to find out !!!

Let me tell you about my new favorite summer dress and get this I scored it for a whomping …… $34 ! Can you believe it because honestly I can’t considering I was ready to drop $200 on a very similar look. These days practicality is my middle name because honestly its just not feasible to be blowing money like the wind. Well when I really think about it I’ve always been a good shopper, never was the kind of girl to over spend on clothing. I mean don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that Ive never over spent on clothing and or shoes; but I like to consider myself a savvy shopper with a good eye.

So how did I come across this steal of a dress which is now my favorite dress for the the season. Well honestly I dreamt of a pink gingham dress which I’m pretty sure was brought on by the the Audrey Reformation dress in blush and yellow gingham. Let me tell you about this dress I literally stalked it, dreamt it and tried justifying the purchase with a million different reason. I came pretty close to buying it until the voice of reason my friend Maria told be a hard NO. I already said no to myself in my head but it was a soft no. So I searched high and low and let me tell you thank you google because I literally just typed gingham dress and BAM there it was my look for less!

Outfit details

the DRESS – Express ps its even more on sale then when i purchased it !!

Jacket and Sneaks – One of my staple places Gap I got these a while ago but I’m sure they have similar options.

Brining back the infamous hashtag #BARRRCA2014 because it really was a trip for the books ! Rewind 3 years ago September 2014, a bottle of wine an 8 hour flight mind you senza TV’s and four of my best friends it was an interesting flight to say the least.

Touch down and welcome to beautiful Barcelona ! First things first is there any wifi because these days its sad to say but we are dependent on technology and being connected at all times.

Browse below and checkout some snaps from one of my favorite trips!

Some of my favorite sites

Sagrada Familia

La Rambla

Cafe con leche

Parc Güell

Montserrat

Theses are just a few snaps but there’s so much to see in this beautiful city, I would definitely recommend making it one of your longer trips. Maybe a 5,6 day trip or longer to really enjoy, site see and live like the natives. Living like the natives require cafe con leche, cured meats a siesta in the afternoon and super duper late dinner. Honestly I was in heaven whats better then amazing coffee, cured meat ( i wasn’t a VEGGIE at the time) and having a mid afternoon siesta. All this while being surround by such beautiful art and architecture. Barcelona is truly a beautiful city and hope to be back one day soon !

Attention North Shore gals if you haven’t heard of Blush boutique in Locust Valley, NY you need to check them out. You can keep up with Blush via instagram and online here . It’s recently been taken over under new ownership and this new boss babe has a great eye for everything chic & unique. With a curated assortment of accessories, jewelry, home accessories & skincare products you can confidently walk into Blush and feel like these products were hand picked for you.

While browsing I came across the most perfect pastel colored display of Mario Badescu products. Ive heard such a great things about this brand and decided it was time to give it a try. I’m always looking for new skincare products { A. I couldn’t resist MB’s great packaging I’m a sucker for that stuff and B. they are known for using natural ingredients another thing I’m a sucker for all things natural, at least for the most part.

Currently my daily skin care regimen consist of the below MB products, I have to say that with the short period time I’ve been using his products I can definitely see a difference.

Exfoliator– Botanical Exfoliating Scrub ” Invigorates and refreshes. Delivers gentle exfoliation” Use 2, 3 times a week to help radiate and clear complexion.

Mask – Super Collagen Mask ” Classic, Collagen enriched mask” Helps plump and smooth out lines, for youthful looking complexion. Since I’ve been using I’ve noticed a more youthful glow. Use 2,3 times a week.

Night Cream – Seaweed Night Cream ” Plumps, smooths and softens skin” Lights out night cream on because this girl needs to look “forever young” and I really have to say I’ve seen a slight difference !

My overall opinion on MB products is YAS, YAS, YAS – can’t wait to keep building my collection! Any questions check out the MB’s website they have so much great info on all their products and if your in the North Shore area checkout Blush Boutique for your MB fix or for some great merch!

Literally when in doubt wear black and you’ll look like you never had doubt at all. No joke on a Saturday night my uniform is Black on Black on Black and sometimes a pop of color. Its a running joke that my friend and I have that you can always bet that one of us or all of us will be in head to toe black.

Currently I’m crushing on these new pair of white Circus by Sam Edelman booties that I purchased. The best part of this purchase was the major deal I go and I just couldn’t resist. Apologizing in advance because I’m pretty sure I will be living in these this Spring/ Summer ….

Dumbo, Brooklyn located between two iconic landmarks the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. Making it one of the ultimate picturesque spots, a photographer junkies dream location. I think you all know the famous Dumbo picture I’m talking about, right ? Well if not keep reading and scrolling , you’ll see a few of my favorite snaps from the day and me too.

Williamsburg to Dumbo please ! Via Uber it took about 25 minutes and obviously its wasn’t a traffic free ride because when is there ever not traffic. Dropped off at a random location that on google maps looked close enough to the infamous Dumbo photo spot. Since directions and following google maps isn’t my forte the idea to follow all the people with cameras seemed like the sure thing to do. It worked and everyone around had the exact same reasoning for walking that way. I mean it really is one of prettiest views and so quaint. Cobblestone streets, a view of the bridge and NYC skyline in the distance really sets the tone for a great photo opp.

On to the next location the Historic District I’m not sure we really made it but we came across everything we wanted. Brownstones, colorful homes, quaint streets, cobblestone streets and beautiful water views of Manhattan. Walking our way through Dumbo we came across some great looking spots for a bites and treats. To name a few the infamous Grimaldi’s – On the corner of Old Fulton and Front Streets for bites and Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory for treats.

New York, New York made up of 5 boroughs and one of my favorites for a while has been Brooklyn. Lets not get to carried away theres nothing quite like Manhattan but Brooklyn in my opinion is runner up. Honestly not even runner up I think it may be my fav, it has the city feel mixed with quaint historic charm. I don’t know if it connects me to my Italian roots; but back in the day parts of Brooklyn was filled with Italians and that old Italian charm. Brooklyn is huge though and those “Italian” parts of it yes are nice and always such fun to visit especially 18th Avenue to get my cannoli and cappuccino fix; but those aren’t the parts of BK I’ve been crushing on.

Hello Williamsburg ! People call it the new Manhattan an has been an up and coming neighborhood for years now. Williamsburg marries that city charm with a new and old feel, filled with tons of artistic charm ( you can find pretty much a cool mural and graffiti art anywhere you look ). If you know me I love good wall art and never miss an opportunity for a photo opp !

Rider | Brooklyn, NY

Rituals | Brooklyn, NY

Along with great wall art Williamsburg is filled with great EATS and obvi great coffee ! This past week one of my best babes invited me along for a little BK adventure and our first stop was Rider. If you haven’t heard of them check them out and if you love everything grey and monochromatic you’ll love the vibes inside.

On the menu they serve breakfast until 11am on weekdays and lunch until 4pm and of course on the weekends brunch hours are 11am – 4pm. We grabbed some breakfast K got Hotel Lobby which are eggs with either a choice of sautéed veggies or meat, she went with veggies. I went with Avocado Toast served with a poached egg and of course we did drip coffees all around ! Fun fact we are both vegetarians, she’s dairy free and I’m a struggling dairy free gal. I swear I’m slightly lactose intolerant but can’t seem to pass up cheese every now and then. It makes going out for eats with her easy since we share a very similar lifestyle. Overall I would say that Rider is on my list of places to go back to. Next time I’m thinking brunch the banana french toast looks amazing and so does the cocktail list!

Next stop Woops for you guessed it another coffee and macarons, this time an almond milk latte. See that I got almond milk me being dairy free but I do have to say when it comes to coffee I either drink it black or with dairy free milk. This little bakeshop is the cutest from the great tiled floors to cute table tops. When we walked in it was filled with so many young peeps. Every other table had either a laptop or camera on it. one could call it an unofficial office for the freelance employed. Also no joke a baby photoshoot was going on in the corner, an actual photoshoot.

Hi there !
Welcome to Royour_boat my own little space I can call my very own. This project has been a year and months in the making and I’ve finally did it. I still can’t believe its actually up! If your fond of fashion, coffee, photography, travel and instagramable moments I think you’ll like it here. By any means I didn’t get my degree in writing so please be kind, this place is my own little safe haven.

Hello, its me …. My name is Rosamaria but everyone calls me Ro I really do mean everyone for the most part. When people call me by my full name I swear I’m in trouble and my heart drops for a split second. Ive been called Ro for years and a friend of mine swears she came up with the nickname. I’m pretty sure my mom did; but I let her think otherwise. I mentioned before that this project has been in the making for sometime and finally I cracked the whip. A few months ago I received a little reality check that really has helped me put things into perspective. You know the saying a blessing in disguise I truly do see it as that, but hey I’m human and sometimes my thoughts get the best of me.